Religious Developments And The 'Golden Age' Of Elizabethan Culture Flashcards
What does Haigh suggest about the state of religion in England?
He suggests that Britain remained very Catholic by the end of Elizabeth’s reign (8596 was a massive underestimate), but they had dwindled from the beginning of the reign (they had become a numerical insignificance).
What was Puritanism and what did Puritans believe?
This was the belief amongst godly Protestants and the Church of England needed to be purged of any remaining ‘superstitious’ (i.e. Catholic) practices. Puritans believed that Elizabeth’s religious settlement was incomplete because of the apparent unreformed nature of the Church. They believed in the eradication of ‘popish superstition’ and their emergence can be traced back to the failure of the Convocation of Canterbury in 1563 to go further in its reform of the Church.
What was the Vestment controversy and who was involved?
This was a result of Puritans who believed in the eradication of ‘superstitious’ practices. Several clerical figures decided they wouldn’t obey the rules on clerical dress laid down from the Act of Uniformity and royal injunctions as this specified the wearing of Catholic and therefore ‘superstitious’ dress. The queen forced the issue by dismissing the prominent Oxford acedemic Thomas Sampson from his post at Christ Church College for his refusal to wear the required vestments. Archbishop Parker issued the ‘Advertisements’ in March 1566 which required the clergy to follow ‘one uniformity of rites and manners’ in the administration of the sacraments and ‘one decent behaviour in their outward apparel’. 37 London clergymen refused to signify their support and were consequently deprived of their support.
What did the vestment controversy suggest about Elizabeth?
It showed the extent to which the queen was determined to enforce her settlement.
What was the Presbyterian movement, and what did Presbyterians start to question?
This was an aspect of the broader Puritan movement who believed that the Church of England (already Calvinist in its doctrine) should be further reformed in its structure and its forms of worship. It’s ideas grew out of Calvinist views on Church organisation and discipline, and it emerged partly in reaction to the Vestiarian Controversy. Some Presbyterians began to question the scriptural basis for the authority of bishops and other aspects of the Church. The criticisms were voiced in two pamphlets known as the two Admonitions.
Describe the pamphlet war between Thomas Cartwright and John Whitgift
The first Admonition attacked the Book of Common Prayer and called for the abolition of bishops. The second Admonition provided a detailed description of a Presbytertian system of Church government. A pamphlet war followed where Cartwright and the Presbyterians believed that a Church founded on ‘superstitious’ or ‘popish’ principles must be spiritually flawed and the 1559 settlement had to be modified. However Witgift argued that the Presbyterians’ attitude was destructive and would split the Church.
In which areas was Presbyterianism strong?
They were largely confined to London, Essex, the university of Cambridge, Suffolk and parts of the East Midlands. They attracted some high-ranking support including the Earl of Huntington, the Earl of Leicester and even Lord Burghley saw the advantages of Presbyterianism against Catholicism. All three defended clergymen who fell foul of the authorities because of their alleged sympathy towards the Presbyterian movement. This movement grew in the 1580’s when ideas for Church government through local assemblies and provincial and national synods were developed.
Who were Turner and Cope?
Peter Turner and Anthony Cope introduced bills which, if enacted, would have replaced the Book of Common Prayer with a new prayer book stripped of any remaining ‘popish’ elements. Neither bill generated much support. Cope was imprisoned briefly, though the queen knighted him five years later which suggests he quickly recovered his position.
How did John Whitgift attack the Presbyterian movement and what successes did he have?
As the Archbishop of Canterbury, he issued Three Articles to which clergy had to subscribe:
1. Acknowledgement of royal supremacy
2. Acceptance of the prayer book as containing nothing ‘contrary to the Word of God’
3. Acceptance that the Thirty-Nine Articles confirmed to the word of God.
The second article created a crisis of conscience for many clergy, who thought that some parts of the prayer book lacked scriptural justification. Councillors like Leicester and Walsingham forced Whitgift to reduce the second article to a simpler acceptance of the prayer book and most clergy were able to justify accepting this by arguing that their preaching ensured godliness within the Church. Whitgift was able to force George Gifford (Lord Burghley’s protégé) out of his post and Cartwright was refused a licence to preach, despite Leicesters pleas. He caused much despair among clergymen, but had the support of the queen. His policies and attitudes were regarded with suspicion by many of the queens ministers.
What happened to Presbyterianism in the 1580s and what was the impact of the Marprelate Tracts?
By the late 1580s, Presbyterianism was in decline. Very few Puritan clergy were prepared to break with the Church by refusing the accept the Three Articles, and the failure of Cope’s ‘Bill and Book’ in 1587 showed the futility of a parliamentary approach. Presbyterianism was further weakened by the death of its key organiser, John Field, in 1589. No synod was held after 1589 and the reputation of the Presbyterian movement suffered on account of the satirical Marprelate Tracts. These were a set of scurrilous and satirical attacks written in the late 1580s about some of the bishops of the time.
What was Separatism?
This is the most extreme form of Puritanism. It’s adherents wanted to separate from the Chuch of England altogether. Separatists regarded the Church of England as incapable of reforming itself sufficiently to root out all ‘popish’ or ‘superstitious’ practices and they wanted to create independent church congregations. They were resolutely opposed to the queen’s status as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. This movement emerged in the 1580s and Robert Browne became the leader of a significant congregation in Norwich, but his challenge soon petered out and he went into exile in the Netherlands with some of his congregation in 1582. He later returned to England and made peace with the authorities in 1585, aided by the good offices of his relative, Lord Burghley. Henry Burrow and John Greenwood led Separatist movements in London, although the numbers involved were small. Nevertheless, their activities were sufficient to alarm the authorities and led to the passing of the Act against Seditious Sectaries in 1593. Barrow, Greenwood and John Penry were tried and executed ‘for devising and circulating seditious books’.
How did Puritanism die out and when?
The deaths of Leicester, Mildmay, Walsingham and political supporters at court meant the Puritan influence declined. The defeat of the Spanish Armarda reduced the perceived threat of Catholicism and lessened its attractions. The disappearance of Presbyterianism meant that Puritan attitudes became more acceptable within the traditional Church structure. The fundamentally Calvinist beliefs of the Church of England were reaffirmed in the Lambeth Articles of 1595, which proved acceptable to Puritans and their opponents such as Whitgift alike. Furthermore, the 1559 Book of Common Prayer was accepted by both as the basis for an acceptable form of worship.
How did Catholics respond differently to the Act of Royal Supremacy of 1559?
An active minority followed the Catholic Bishops, who had (except one) refused to conform to the Oath of Supremacy in 1559. While some Catholic intellectuals went into exile, most frequently to the Spanish Netherlands, rather than conform, some priests survived as private chaplains to Catholic members of the nobility who protected them or conducted secret Catholic services. Such Catholics were known as recusants.
What was significant about the Northern Rebellion of 1569?
It had Catholic undertones and provoked a punitive attitude to Catholics. To make matters worse, Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570 and called on all loyal Catholics to depose her. This placed English Catholics in an impossible position, forced to choose between loyalty to their Church or monarch.
What action was taken against Catholics in the 1570s and 1580s?
Acts were passed against the Catholics:
1. 1571 Act made the publication of papal bulls treasonable.
2. 1581 Act to Retain the Queen’s Majesty’s Subjects in their Due Obedience. This made it treason to withdraw subjects’ allegiance to either the queen or the Church of England. Saying Mass became punishable by heavy fine and imprisonment and the fine for non-attendance at church was raised to the prohibitive figure of £20 a month. Although the laity were not too harshly treated, 4 Catholic priests were executed in 1581, and 11 in 1582.
3. 1585 Act against Jesuits and Seminary Priests which made it treasonable for priests ordained under the Pope’s authority to enter England. This made it much easier for the courts to secure convictions for treason; 123 priests were convicted and executed under this Act from 1586 to 1603.
In 1587, the act of 1581 was tightened so that any recusant who defaulted on his payment of fines could have two thirds of his estate seized by the Exchequer. The persecution of recusants was at its height from 1588 to 1592.
The drafting of a ‘Bond of Association for the Preservation of the Queen’s Majesty’s Royal Person’ by Burghley and Walsingham in October 1584 increased the pressure against Catholics. Anyone who took the oath of association were required to execute summarily (i.e. Murder) anyone who attempted to usurp the crown or make an attempt at Elizabeth’s life.
